Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has secured a drilling permit from the country’s authorities for an exploration well in the North Sea off Norway.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) reported on Tuesday, 14 February 2023, that it had granted Equinor a drilling permit for the wildcat well 30/6-C-2 A in production licence 053 , which was awarded on 6 April 1979 and is valid until 1 March 2031.
As the operator of the licence, Equinor holds an ownership interest of 49.3 per cent. The Norwegian giant’s partners are Petoro (33.6 per cent), TotalEnergies EP Norge (14.7 per cent), and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (2.4 per cent).
The well is expected to be drilled in April 2023 and the drilling operations will be carried out from the Oseberg C integrated accommodation, processing and drilling platform that sits atop a steel jacket. This platform is part of the Oseberg Field Centre , which is located in Block 30/6 and 30/9, about 130 kilometres northwest of Bergen.
The Oseberg Field Centre includes three platforms, Oseberg A, B and D, connected to one another with bridges, in the southern part of the Oseberg field, and the Oseberg C platform, which lies 13 kilometres north of the field centre.
According to Equinor, Oseberg is the third-largest oil producer ever on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). When it came on stream, it was expected to produce around one billion barrels of oil.